Mintoff Bland's villa had partially collapsed due to fire, court is told

A police officer who was dispatched to gather evidence of a stabbing and arson attack at the Tarxien home of Yana Mintoff Bland has told a court that part of the villa had already collapsed as a result of the fire by the time he arrived at the scene.

Last October, Mintoff Bland, daughter of former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, was allegedly stabbed at her home by her ex-partner, who is also accused of setting fire to the house. Mintoff Bland suffered cuts to her chest and wrist while her son, Daniel Mainwairing, is understood to have been stabbed twice in the thigh during the incident. The accused, Romanian national Gheorghe Popa, spent time in intensive care after suffering stab wounds to his abdomen.

Mintoff Bland was present in the courtroom this morning as the compilation of evidence against the man accused of attempting to grievously injure her continued before magistrate Joe Mifsud.

Gheorghe Popa, 39, looked on from the dock as several prosecution witnesses gave evidence about the events of 24 October at Mintoff Bland's home.

A scene of crime officer who had been tasked with photographing the area, told the magistrate how he had decided to go inside the house and start working, despite it being full of smoke. He had arrived at the scene at 11.45pm, he said. “The fires had been put out but there was still a lot of smoke.”

Part of the structure had been destroyed, he said, the ground floor had been gutted by the blaze and the roof of one corridor had partially collapsed. The court was told that the majority of the evidence was collected from the roof, where police found a considerable amount of blood.

Court expert Marisa Cassar took the witness stand to confirm her report in the inquiry, on oath.

Mintoff Bland's lawyer, Joe Giglio, appearing parte civile for Mintoff Bland asked about the DNA samples taken from the blood that was found on the roof. Cassar replied that those blood samples had matched Popa's DNA.

Another scene of crime officer testified to finding a knife at the base of a tree, next to the house which was the same height as the structure. Officers had noticed red liquid dripping from the tree's branches, unaware at the time that Popa had climbed that tree and was hiding among the branches.

The officer explained that a blood trail led from the base of the tree to the house, through the upper floors, to the roof. The officer told the court that he had found a lit cigarette on the roof and a mobile phone on top of the water tank.

Another officer stationed at the Paola police station on the evening of the incident testified that, after receiving information of the aggression in Tarxien, he had accompanied inspector Spiridione Zammit to the scene of the crime.

Police had first set up a cordon around the Mintoff Bland residence to prevent the aggressor's escape and had then searched the still-smoking house for him, in vain.

The court heard how it was pine cones, falling on to the spot where the knife had been found that had alerted the police to Popa's hiding place.

The court was told how a police inspector and a doctor had looked up and spotted Popa up the tree, losing blood and with part of his intestines protruding from an abdominal stab wound. The man was lowered to safety and photographed as he lay on the ground.

The case continues in May.

Lawyer Benjamin Valenzia is defence counsel to Popa.